Celebrate Recovery... Longview, Wa   July 24, 2008

what an awesome venture this has turned out to be..no question that the Lord led me to southwest Washington state for a couple of days...
i was blessed to meet a Christian brother and some of his close Christian frenz and family.
this particular stop on my trip enabled me to draw even closer to God, realizing my absolute need for Him in all things...
it also gives me the chance to remember, being reminded through several scriptures, just how important it is to let go of my own goals and plans, and to completely submit myself to Him.
to be effective for Him, i need to be submissive to Him...
to understand His will in my life, i need to trust Him totally with every single thing...
it was an absolutely fantastic night of food, fellowship and making several new Christian frenz here in Longview...what a blessing it was to get to meet new Christian family...
ron, rod, don, sue, debbie, crystal, steve, justin(awesome rap, bro), lucy..and of course, joe...God bless each of you so much, and i will see you all again.

p.s.- debbie, watch those purse fires;)

 

 

Spokane, Wa      August 2, 2008

it's like being home again...this town, even with its growth and sprawl, is such a familiar part of my life.

arriving just after midnight today, after several hours of traveling through scenic desert(and mountains), brought such an overwhelming sense of peace..thank you, Father, for this day.

when i ask the Lord to open doors of opportunity, He does just that. whether it's the woman selling tickets at the bus station, or the brother(10 months saved and clean from substance abuse)..He continues to bless me with the way to share Him and encourage others in their faith.

still, the thoughts i had while listening to those around me(on the bus trip here) reminds me what a lost world we live in...there are still so many around each of us who continue to walk in blindness, ignorant of God and completely deceived..this dying world needs to know their Saviour..

please continue to support this mission as we continue to reach out to a people in need of a relationship with Jesus Christ..

Street mission: day one            August 14, 2008

Praise God from whom each of our blessings come...!!!!

i walked into the downtown area today to spend some time communing with the Lord(rather than taking the bus), praising and worshipping Him..with Casting Crowns in my headset;) once i got into the downtown area, i just kinda waited on the Lord to lead me where He would have me to go..asking He send someone my way, or vice-versa..after walking through some of the areas where homeless people congregate, i found myself hitting a dead-end, and turned the other direction towards a skate-park my friend had told me about...once i got there, i noticed about a half a dozen or so skaters scattered throughout the park..

i perched on one of the ledges at the far-end, just hanging back and continuing to be open to whatever the Lord's will was..one of the skaters gravitated my direction and landed about 10 feet away..we small-talked and then i realized, after being offered something..that he was a dealer. i turned down the offer, and he went about skating, but kept coming back to the area where i was sitting..

after a few more half-attempts at convo, he asked where i was from, and what i was doing in spokane..thank you, Lord!!! i had the opportunity to witness to him, telling him how i'd been delivered from drug abuse last year, and told him what i was doing in the area..he asked if i was on this missions trip because i wanted to...so, maybe he thought initially that i was a mormon;)

regardless, the Lord completely opened up the door for me to share a bit with him, and while he was doing a few tricks on the pipe, i wrote down my info for him..however, when he came back my direction, this time he sat within a matter of feet from me..obviously, he wasn't turned off by my honesty about being a Christian, and instead, was almost literally drawn to me..praise God!! i handed him the piece of paper and told him if he ever needed to talk to someone, or needed prayer to get ahold of me..he said he would, and that he'd give me his number when i took him up on the friend request here..

we said our goodbyes, and i walked away towards the downtown riverfront park, feeling absolutely blessed that of all people the Lord would lead me to that it would end up being a dealer...i prayed downtown that the Lord would open his heart and eyes, and i'm praying that some seed was set in place today..

after sitting in the park for awhile, i began to pray out in the open..and nobody else happened my way, so i decided to make the 2 mile trek back here, in 96 degree weather..sandals wearing holes into my feet, blistered and bleeding..it was all worth it..

and as i came back, i thought...Lord, even if You only send one person a day my way, please don't let me be discouraged that its not more, and let all i do go to glorify and honor You..and then the thought crossed my mind of how awesome it would be to see this guy accept the Lord, and the trickle effect that it could have through the local skater/drug-culture community... 

all praise and glory to Jesus Christ...

Street mission: day two     August 16, 2008

my hope these past couple of days has been to have contact again with the guy from the skate-park, and he's been lifted up in my prayers(that God would open his heart and eyes)..as i walked back to the park today, i kept praying that the Lord would lead me back to him if it were meant to be..there were a few more skaters there than the other day, and i looked around to see if i could find my new friend..to no avail.

not wanting to come across as an "undercover", i walked past the group again figuring he wasn't there, and then we saw each other...smile on his face once he saw me, and he tried to remember my name..i knew it was ok to approach him at this point. as i got closer to him, i realized he was right in the middle of a transaction, and i almost hesitated..but he welcomed me over nevertheless..

we talked for a couple minutes, exchanged numbers, and small-talked for just a few..my prayer(besides his salvation)is that the Lord will continue to open the doors to speak to him, hopefully outside of that environment..in spite of me. i need to be removed, so that the Holy Spirit can minister to him...i said goodbye after a short convo, and walked away feeling elated.

on the way back to the downtown core, i happened across a trio of gutter-punks..and our paths kept intertwining enough to be able to hear their conversation...the oldest of the three was telling the other two how he didn't really have any friends, and my heart sank..i hesitated taking the time to approach him, but there again, maybe the Lord will allow us to run across each other at some point during my stay here...i'll keep him in my prayers until then.

as i was waiting for the bus back, an older woman(who had once been homeless) asked about my tattoos and if there was any significance in any of them..we joked back and forth for a few, and i told her i wouldn't be getting anymore..i showed her my last one i had done(which is the one on my left shoulder, remembering jerome who died in iraq last year)..she began to tell me what it meant(at least what she thought it meant anyways), and that was the beginning of a conversation that revealed her metaphysical views on life, sexuality, religion and Jesus...

she is a regular face in the downtown street community(obvious from the greetings from a number of people passing as we spoke), and was very open to share her views on God(or "lifeforce", i think she said)..and i wanted to use the opportunity when she mentioned Him to share with her, but she continued on about how all people are related by the same energy...very "new age" thinking on her part, but i waited until she was done before i spoke.

i told her i agreed that all people were connected, as we all came from the same beginning..and that i do believe in God, and that i'm a Christian..her hand went up, and she told me she didn't want to start arguing..that she didn't want to talk religion..i told her it wasn't about a "religion", but about Him being my Saviour..when i approached her from that angle, she understood i wasn't going to try and force anything at her..i wanted to share, not shove...

my bus pulled up, and she realized we were riding the same one..so, i was hoping our talk would continue until one of us got off at our destination..and it did. she sat down next to me on the bus, and continued to tell me her view on Jesus, buddha, mohommad..and was talking about paranormal youth being trained in the wenatchee area..almost a little x-files sound to the story, but i let her talk...

while i had the chance, i told her that Jesus was about love, and how we're to love each other..not condemn each other. she asked what i was doing in the area, and i told her..then she asked why i didn't stay where my "people" were and minister to them instead of heading out into dangerous, unfamiliar territory..and i told her that there was a burden on my heart to share Him with people everywhere, she just nodded..

we shook hands, and said goodbye as i got off the bus...and i thanked the Lord(yet again) for another opportunity to have the courage and the ability to witness to someone who is, in her own way, searching for the truth..if she keeps searching, she may just find Him...